Fake followers and the influencer marketing ecosystem

In the world of influencer marketing, the number of followers or subscribers an individual has is a key metric. For companies that look to connect influencers to brands, the number of people that an influencer can reach is an important part of the initial pitch. Even if there is no guarantee that a brand’s message will connect with said audience, having a lot of followers at least means that a certain amount of people is going to see it. But what if a proportion of those followers are fake? The issue bubbles up into the mainstream once in a while. Most recently Twitter Audit put CNN’s fake follower at over 12 million, and people have questioned how many of Katy Perry’s 100 million followers are real people.